Hannah’s Story. Chapter One, part one.

Chapter One:  Before Hannah

Our Dear Sweet Hannah,

My life has changed since you were born.  I see life so differently now.  Being your mother is such a great honor and I thank you for being my little Hannah.

Your story began long before you were born.  Generations upon generations of people living their own stories and making choices until it was your turn.  I don’t know about all of them, but they are also your story.  I have felt a new gratitude for them now.  Because of them, I am here, and because I am here, I have you.

You should know how your father and I met.  I think back on that blessed day and know that I had no realization of the happiness that day would bring me.

Your father and I lived our own lives, making our own choices , totally unaware of each other’s existence.  You can see here that your dad used to have red hair too.  You are like both of us.

One of the most important things I could teach you is that you are living your love story right now, just like we were our entire lives.  The reason your father and I fell in love is because of who we were.  I worked a long time on myself hoping to be worthy of someone like him.

We were each with our own group of friends.  He was coming from a barbeque, and I was going to it.  I noticed him because I knew that group of guys well and was surprised to see an unfamiliar face with them.  We didn’t talk but I guess he noticed me because he asked his friend who I was and learned details about me before we actually met.

Your father had just moved to Salt Lake after finishing his schooling at BYU-Idaho, and I had been living in Salt Lake teaching seminary.  I was fresh off the plane from a trip to Europe and had no idea that would be my last international backpacking trip.  I was of the opinion that as long as I am not married, I should take advantage and see as much of the world as I can.  There were actually times I would literally grab a globe sometimes and spin it and let my finger land randomly to pick where I was going next.

So there we were, finally in the same city for the first time in our lives and he just happened to be close friends with a guy I knew and saw frequently.   Soon after the barbeque a group of us went to a local baseball game and we sat behind the outfield on the grass.  Your dad brought along two girls and I never let him forget about that.  Our only interaction at the game that I remember was when I handed him some bills and he bought me a bottle of water.   It was after the game that I began to see something special in him.

We were going back to my place to play some games, at least that was the plan.  When your dad pulled up in his jeep he was without those two girls.  Turns out, he and his friend took them home and came back to my place because he knew that I was the girl he wanted to talk to.  I had put in a batch of chocolate chip muffins and when they had fully baked, I left the group to take them out of the oven.  In my haste to get back to the group, I overturned the pan and because they were too hot, they fell apart all over the counter instead of coming out as whole muffins.  I was so embarrassed, but then your dad and his friend came in to eat the crumbs.  As good friends do, his buddy quickly left us alone in the kitchen.

We started talking.  I don’t know how long, but it must have been awhile because people started to come looking for us.  I don’t remember everything we talked about, but I know I picked up on your father’s intense desire to provide and protect the people he loves.  I remember thinking that this guy will not fail his family and that he would do whatever it takes to give them what they need.  I am sure that is a quality in many of the guys I have known, but I have never seen it like this in someone.  And Hannah, what I realized that day has only been magnified since then.  You can always count on your father.  He will move heaven and earth to give us what we need.  We are so very lucky.

He didn’t ask me out, and to be honest, I didn’t want him to.  I thought he was a nice guy, but I had other dates with other guys, and I knew that your dad wouldn’t be casual about dating.  I wasn’t ready for him yet, I needed to know him more.  So we kept  running into each other, at least once a week it seemed.  And he wasn’t afraid to make it known that he was interested in me… all part of his plan he says.

We met in July 2007, and now it was early September.  Throughout that time span, my Jeep was acting up – something with the steering. I had no idea at the time that a very annoying car problem would change my life forever.

In our very first conversation in my kitchen he had told me that he had worked as a diesel mechanic while he was in high school and so I casually mentioned my car issue.  Well, it turns out that he has a jeep too and that he would love to help fix mine.  “Sure,” I thought – every guy is a mechanic when they like a girl.

So every time I saw him he kept asking me when he was going to fix my jeep.  That was his plan – he wanted to come fix my jeep and have me fall madly in love with him.  But, I was on to him and kept saying, “Oh, yeah, I will call you” but just happened to not have his number, and just happened to never ask for it.

Over a month later I began to realize my car wasn’t fixing itself so I sent a text to his friend asking for his number.  And because I knew of his plan, I also had a plan of my own.

I just happened to know that he wasn’t available during his work day to answer his phone, so that is exactly when I called.  “Hi, this is Shannon….  So, I was wondering if your offer to fix my jeep is still good.  I’m not sure what is wrong with it, and it only acts up on certain places on the freeway, so I was thinking…  a GROUP of us are going to the  She Daisy concert at the state fair, and if you want to come with us, I will totally buy your ticket and then you can drive my car and see if you can figure out its problem.  Call me back.  Thanks,bye.”

Now Hannah, I want you to see what is wrong here.  First of all, I invited your father to a She Daisy concert.  Second of all, well… you will see, your father will show me where I had foolishly underestimated him.

So, he sent me a text telling me exactly when he was going to call, and he did.

“Hey, I got your message, I would love to come”, he said.

“Great!  It is this Thursday”, I told him.

“But I will only come on one condition.”

huh?”  I thought.

“That you let me pay, and that it is a date”, he very boldly replied.

“Oh no!” I said back peddling.  “You are totally doing me a favor and it is my way of saying thank you!”  But what I was really thinking was “Oh no, I am losing control of my plan”.

“I have wanted to ask you out for a while now, and this is the perfect opportunity”, he said.

And then I dropped dead.

I wasn’t used to guys like your father.  I was used to guys who were really interested thinking that they had to act not interested.   They would say they would call at a certain time, and then call far after that.  Or they would wait some pre-determined-in-their-head time period before asking me on a second date.  Or they would try to text me to ask me out. Or they would try and hang out rather than have the responsibility of a formal date.  In short, I was used to guys not being men, and your father wasn’t like that.

It was September 14th when your dad and I went on that first date, exactly eleven months before we were married… but of course we didn’t know that.  He drove my car as planned and we were going to meet everyone else at the concert.   As we were approaching the entrance, he said to me, “Now, you didn’t sneak and buy the tickets did you?”  “Nope”, I said.  “Good.  Because I want to take care of you”, he replied.  “What”? I thought.  “Are there really still guys like this out there”?

We went into the concert and sat by everyone that I had originally planned to meet up with.  When I found my seat, we saw that there was something spilled on it.  Your father insisted on switching seats with me and proceeded to sit slouched back with his tailbone on the very edge of the seat the entire concert.  I can’t imagine how uncomfortable that would have been, but he has since confirmed to me that it was very uncomfortable.  Strike one should have been the She Daisy concert, and strike two should have been that he had to sit like that the entire time…  but when a guy likes a girl, he will treat her like this.  Remember that and accept nothing less.

The concert was good, at least I thought it was, and we said goodbye to the group and made our way to the rides and booths.  We wandered around enjoying each other’s company when your father saw the carnival attraction where you take the mallet and strike the plate and see how far up you can make the thing go up until it hits the bell.  Well, you surely know by now how freakishly strong your father is, and he wanted to show off for me, so he bought some tickets and we walked over to it.  Well, it turns out that they only take cash there, not tickets, and since he had just spent his cash we opted to go on this ride where you climb in a little caged car and it flips you around and around as you go in circles.

Well, that ride was fun for the first 30 seconds, but five minutes later we literally stumbled out and decided that we were too old for that sort of thing anymore, and we did what old people do and went and got a couple of lemonades.

We sat down at a table and started talking about everything that mattered to us.  It was so easy to be with him.  We talked about family, his mission, our jobs, our dreams… and I realized that everything that mattered to me also mattered to him.  We talked for so long that by the time we pulled out of our trance, we realized that we were the only ones left!  In the entire park!  All of the lights were still lit on all of the rides but there was not a soul to be seen.  We felt like we were part of some elaborate prank, or in a scene of a movie – it was all very surreal.

We made our way out of the park without ever seeing a single person.  Then we made our way back to my place with the plan that he would be at my house 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, tools in hand, to fix my car.

And that is my favorite of all the stories to tell.

To be continued….

13 comments

  1. oh. my. goodness.
    I’m on the edge of my seat 😉
    My heart fluttered the whole time I read this, and I’m just a stranger. I can only imagine how giddy Hannah will be as she hears about how Mom and Dad fell in love.
    So special Shannon. So glad you wrote it down, and shared.

  2. This is beautiful! Can’t wait for the next installment 🙂 What an incredible gift to give your daughter.

  3. This is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! What an incredible gift for your daughter! I might have to do this….I’ve recently divorced but I’d like my children know that their parents did have some good memories; (whether sincere or not, they were real to me).

  4. Shannon…loved your story!! Looking forward to the next instalment…what a sweetie your husband is and isn’t it fun that HE had a plan!!! Nice to be wanted and cherished like that…

  5. Super fun! I love this. 🙂 I wrote down our “love story” for my husband on our first anniversary… But I love the idea of writing it more like a book of stories for your children. — It was fun to read about your story; thanks for sharing!

  6. That is so awesome. I thought I was in for a quick scan read, but I found myself loving every word. Such a fun idea. I will have to do it for my kids!

  7. I love your approach to this personal love story! There is nothing better to give your daughters than a father that loves and respects her mother. We are a blessed people to have the priesthood that teaches and instills these precious traits in our men in their youth. Thanks once again for sharing.

  8. We definitely ARE very blessed to have such wonderful men carefully prepared for us, as we are carefully prepared for them. I absolutely adored reading your story, your pictures are gorgeous, the happiness that radiates through both of your faces is beyond words. Can’t wait for the next installment! Hannah is indeed very blessed to come from such a wonderful family.

  9. Oh, so cute! I love all the detail that you remember (although you probably have it written down somewhere!!!). So sweet to do this for Hannah. She is blessed to have you two as parents!

  10. I found your site a few weeks ago and absolutely love it! I love the fact that you are writing this for your precious daughter. And I love that you are sharing it with us.

    This site is amazing and I love all the helpful hints and tips you share. Thank you!

    (FYI – SHeDaisy will be in American Fork on July 21 for Steel Days)

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